Pencil-sharpener



(No Model.)

G 1) HART PENCIL SHARPENER.

No. 575,947. Patented m, 26, 1897..

ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE D. HART, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

PENClL-SHARPEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 575,947, dated January 26, 1897.

' Application filed May 12, 1896. smart. 591,244.. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE D. HART, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex, in the State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pencil-Sharpeners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apencil-sharpener adapted to sharpen a pencil or crayon by abrasion.

The objects of the invention areto provide a simple and cheap pencil-sharpener which will efficiently sharpen a pencil or crayon without imparting the dust therefrom to the atmosphere of the room.

The invention consists in a vessel having an open top covered with a fixed arc-shaped perforated rubbing-surface and provided with a receptacle for receiving the abraded material.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents a perspective view of my improved pencil sharpener, showing a pencil being sharpened. Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal vertical section thereof.

The same reference-numbers indicate corresponding parts in both of the figures.

A box 10, constructed of wood or any suitable material and having an open top, is preferably employed in carrying out my invention. The front and rear ends 15 and 20 of said box have arc-shaped upper edges extending above the sides of the box. A perforated covering 25 is stretched over the top of the box and is secured thereto in any suitable manner. This perforated covering is preferably composed of fine-mesh wire-gauze, and,

being stretched over the arc-shaped ends and of the box, an arc-shaped form is imparted to the gauze-wire abrading-surface. This arc-shaped form of the rubbing-surface enables the crayon or pencil to be adjusted in contact with such surface in such a manner as to obtain any desired length of point.

The box 10 is preferably provided with a drawer 30 for receiving the abraded material, and saiddrawer is provided with a handle 31. This handle performs the double function of withdrawing the drawer and serving as a means for steadying the box while the pencil or crayon is applied to the rubbing-surface thereof. N

In the use of my invention the handle 31 is grasped by one hand and a pencil is held in the other and rubbed on the perforated covering until the desired point is obtained. During this rubbing process no dust arises, as therubbin g of the pencil on the perforated covering gives the abraded material a downward motion and it is deposited in the drawer thereof. This drawer may be removed from time to time and emptied.

- By the use of a device of this character all the unpleasantness and ill effects of having ones clothes and lungs contaminated with the dust arising from the sharpening operation, as was formerly the case, is avoided. In the old manner of sharpening by rubbing on a sandpaper surface this dust is especially objectionable when crayon is being sharpened, and by the use of my device these objectionable features are avoided and a very long fine.

point can be obtained.

I claim as my invention A pencil-sharpener comprising a box having an open top covered with a perforated fixed arc-shaped rubbing-surface composed of fine-mesh wire-gauze adapted to sharpen by abrasion a crayon or pencil rubbed there on, and a drawer beneath said wire-gauze top for receiving the abraded material.

EDWARD H. SMITH, EDWIN H. BROOK. 

